Buy Strategic Command: American Civil War PC key

Strategic Command: American Civil War is a turn-based strategy game set during the American Civil War. You command either the Union or the Confederacy, managing armies, research, production and diplomatic policy. Your decisions shape whether the United States emerges from the conflict as one nation or two.

The campaign map

The game’s 66,000-hex map covers North America from Canada and New Mexico to the Caribbean, at a scale of 15 km per hex. It is the largest hex-based map in the Strategic Command series. Six campaigns cover the war from its first shot to its last:

• 1861 Blue and Gray
• 1861 Manassas to Appomattox
• 1862 Scott’s Great Snake
• 1862 Trent War, an alternate-history campaign in which the UK recognizes the Confederacy
• 1863 Lee Rides North
• 1864 Make Georgia Howl

Raise and lead armies

At the start of 1861, few professional soldiers are ready to fight. You organize volunteers into Brigades, Divisions and eventually Corps, then research improvements to their weapons and fighting skills. Once trained, your troops can be led by famous Generals including Lee, Jackson, Grant, McClellan, Beauregard and Sherman; their appointments can influence the outcome of battles on which entire armies depend.

The game adds unit types including Balloons, Rangers, Monitors and River Gunboats, alongside technologies such as Naval Engines, Ironclads, Skirmishers and the Field Telegraph. Coastal and inland fortresses, built before the war and known to both sides, guard key ports and waterways and play a greater role in strategy.

Rivers and naval warfare

River warships can navigate the Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland. Inland ports allow rapid movement, while the rivers also create the danger of amphibious attacks. Three types of river vessel can travel these waterways.

Naval forces include rivercraft, coastal vessels and sea-going ships, built of either wood or ironclad construction. The expanded roster of warships gives your admirals a wider range of options at sea.

Reconnaissance and diplomacy

With no radio communications, cavalry is essential for finding enemy armies and avoiding ambushes. You can also train infantry scout detachments, partisan rangers and armoured trains to extend your armies’ reconnaissance. Generals who use experimental technology can deploy observation balloons for aerial observation.

Diplomatic actions, battlefield results and decision events help determine whether European Great Powers intervene. Events include the sale of the Confederate Cotton Stockpile and the Emancipation Proclamation. The UK, France and Spain can be persuaded to support the Confederacy, potentially changing the war’s outcome.

The war in Mexico

While the Civil War divides the United States, Napoleon III of France is fighting for control of Mexico. The front lines in America’s southern neighbour shift over time. If France enters the war, players can take the side of either the Republic or the Empire as the conflict expands across North America.

Scenarios and tools

The game uses an enhanced version of the engine from the series’ WWI and WWII games and includes features from earlier Strategic Command titles. Official mods offer two new map styles as well as the classic style used in previous games. An Editor lets you create campaigns and mods. Partisan scripts, historical event popups and European intervention can each be disabled with a single event.